The rhetorical approach, the quest for balance and the team spirit are the basics of an artistic adventure, whose main commitment is harmony – the art of finding « a nice blend together ».

The story of Les Voix Animées
Founded in 2009, Les Voix Animées are, under the musical direction of Luc Coadou, a team of young singers specializing in a cappella group singing. Their main repertoire is the great polyphony of the Renaissance, « Stile Antico », that goes from the end of the Middle Ages to the Early Baroque.

Since 2010, Les Voix Animées have settled in Toulon, French Riviera.

Since 2012, Les Voix Animées have been organizing a concert series « Entre pierres et mer » (« Between stones and sea »). The vocal ensemble offers to rediscover a large repertoire of early music while creating some works by young composers with the support of the Sacem : in 2012, Karol Beffa (composer of the year 2013 at Les Victoires de la musique classique) ; in 2013 and 2014, Dimitri Tchesnokov ; in 2015, Tomas Bordalejo.

In December 2012, with the support of the Orange Foundation, Les Voix Animées organized their first Christmas concerts’ tour for the benefit of disadvantaged audiences. This solidarity tour, an annual event, is supported today by the department of the Var and by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.

In November 2013, Les Voix Animées created their first « ciné-concert » (a silent movie accompanied by live music) entitled « Charlot, Octave & Bobine », in the context of the 9th edition of the FiMé, International Festival of Music for the Screen. The show presents Charlie Chaplin as the main character while four a cappella voices staged by Jean-Christophe Mast perform at the bottom of the screen. A second « ciné-concert » is being prepared on Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent movie « The Passion of Joan of Arc » in collaboration with composer-sound designer Christophe Demarthe.

In 2014, Les Voix Animées were invited to take part in the TV show « La Boîte à musique » on France 2 with Jean-François Zygel (the famous TV show Le Zapping on Canal + also broadcasted the extract), but also in a story about the Cistercian abbeys in Provence for Claire Chazal’s news broadcast on TF1 and in several filmings and recordings for France 3, France Musique, Le Mouv…

In October 2014, the Festival « Rota das Artes » organized two concerts with the vocal ensemble in Lisbon, Portugal : these were the first steps of Les Voix animées on the international stage. In the spring 2015, Les Voix Animées were invited for two concerts in Germany : at Frankfurt’s Archaeological Museum and on the occasion of Kultur – und Musikverein Dörnigheim.

In March 2016, Les Voix Animées are singing at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London for the opening night of the exhibition « Botticelli Reimagined ».

In the autumn 2016, Les Voix Animées will be giving a series of concerts in China, organized by the Alliance Française (Beijing, Wuhan, Tianjin, Macao…).

Les Voix Animées have a special care for creating new types of shows and meeting new audiences. The « one-minute concerts » in public spaces, the concerts at home « Les Voix Animées become your guests ! » but also « The promotional video of les VoiZ’Animées » web series are examples among others.

Since the creation of the vocal ensemble, Les Voix Animées have been leading a lot of outreach actions, especially towards young people during their residencies in Le Thoronet (primary school) and in Besse-sur-Issole (middle school). In 2016, new educational projects are being set up with the University of Toulon.

The season 2015 was built around the works by Tomas Luis de Victoria for Les Voix Animées. In 2016, they have chosen Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as their fellow traveller.

Another emblematic place in the department of the Var is now part of their project in 2016 - the commission of a work by a young composer will be happening not only in Le Thoronet Abbey but also in La Celle Abbey. Along with these two creations, both a recording and a special concert are programmed for the end of the year in La Celle Abbey.

Les Voix Animées will celebrate their 200th concert in Toulon at the end of November 2016.

Les Voix Animées are supported by the cities of Toulon, la Drac Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, La Valette-du-Var, Le Thoronet, the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolitan area, the department of the Var, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council, the Culture and Communication Ministry, the LVA Sponsors Club, the Sacem, the Spedidam, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux and accompanied by RCF Méditerranée. Since January 1st 2016, Les Voix Animées have been supported by Mécénat Musical Société Générale which has become the main sponsor of the ensemble.

Follow Les Voix Animées on their official website : www.lesvoixanimees.com and on the website dedicated to their musical fantasies including « The promotional videos of les VoiZ’Animées » web series : www.lesvoizanimees.com

Join them on their Facebook pages : Les Voix animées I Groupe vocal and Les Voiz’animées.

Les Voix Animées are a member of the FEVIS – Federation for the Vocal and Instrumental Specialized Ensembles.

Born under the Northern mists, Luc Coadou, just like the Renaissance Flemish masters, easily switches from the role of singer to the role of music director with a constant care about pedagogy and musicological research. We can find a particular interest for early music in his academic work - he is the author of research articles on the lyrical theatre during the French revolution. With Les Voix animées, Luc Coadou explores the vast repertoire of a cappella vocal music and especially that of Renaissance polyphony. Besides being the music director of Les Voix Animées, he is the artistic director of L’Opéra au Village. He has conducted, among others, Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C minor, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Purcell’s Dido, Haendel’s Messiah, Boieldieu’s Caliph of Baghdad, Weber’s Abu Hassan, Chabrier’s Fish-ton-Kan, Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène, Bataclan, Vent du Soir and La Bonne d’enfant, Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon and Le Dernier Sorcier, Bizet’s Djamileh. Philémon and Baucis by Charles Gounod, La Servante Maîtresse by Pergolese, Le Tableau parlant by Grétry, Les Pantins de Violette by Adolphe Adam, Deux Vieilles Gardes by Léo Delibes. He also created pieces by Tristan-Patrice Challulau and, Gérard Garcin, Karol Beffa, Dimitri Tchesnokov, Jean-Michel Bossini and by Tomas Bordalejo.

Baritone, Luc Coadou started his career as an altar boy in the Manécanterie of Dunkerque Les Rossignolets. He studied singing in Lille, and improved his technique with Rachel Yakar and René Jacobs at the Studio Versailles-Opéra. From then, he started singing with several ensembles such as La Chapelle Royale (Philippe Herreweghe), Les Arts Florissants (William Christie), Les Musiciens du Louvre (Marc Minkowski), Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset), Le Parlement de Musique (Martin Gester), La Grande Ecurie and La Chambre du Roy (Jean-Claude Magloire), Le Concert Spiriturel (Hervé Niquet)… From medieval music to contemporary creation, his work is a mix of musical research and eclecticism. Luc Coadou has performed in prestigious festivals and in famous theatres such as the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzbourg, Ambronay, the Berlioz festival in La Côte Saint-André, Saintes, Chaise-Dieu, Turku, the Theatre des Champs Elysées, at the Opéra comique of Paris, at Sao Carlo of Lisbon, at the Brooklin Academy of Music of New-York, at the Royal Albert Hall and at the Barbican Center of London, at the Theater an der Wien and Konzerthaus-Mozart of Vienna, at the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, at the Semperoper of Dresde, at the Opéra de Liège, at the Opéra d'Anvers, at the Opéra de Lille, at the Opéra de Lyon, at the Opéra de Rennes, at the Opéra de Bordeaux, at the Opéra de Nancy, at the Opéra and Arsenal de Metz, at the Opéra du Rhin, at the Opéra d'Angers, at the Palau de la Mùsica Barcelone, at L’Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing... After ten years of teaching at the Conservatoire of Caen, he has been teaching since the year 2000 at the Music Conservatoire of Toulon Provence Méditerranée.